Ridley Grifn RS

The Ridley Grifn RS is a lighter addition to the company's allroad line-up, and with bigger tyre clearances than the bike that launched the range in 2023 it's a bit more versatile too. The geometry sits in between the norm for road and gravel bikes, but it manages to work both on the road and off it – especially if you like to ride fast!

> Buy now: Ridley Grifn RS for £7,292 from Ridley

If you're not absolutely sure what an allroad bike is, have a read of Jamie's feature from last year, What is an all-road bike? Is this new bike breed really an N+1 killer?.

Ridley Grifn RS: Ride

Since the launch of its allroad bike the Grifn last year (which Jamie mentions in that feature, and I also reviewed), Ridley has added to the line-up with an e-bike version, the E-Grifn, plus the Grifn A that uses an aluminium alloy frame, and this range-topper, the Grifn RS, which boasts a lighter frame than the Grifn and increased tyre clearances, giving it a bit more ability and versatility on the gravel front.

What we have here is a gravel bike that rides well on the road, and a road bike that is very capable away from it.

The geometry of the RS isn't far off that of an endurance road bike, so it's definitely aimed at the racier side of things, and with the supple 32mm Vittoria tyres fitted it certainly felt like a fast bike on the tarmac.

It's stiff, too, most noticeable when you get out of the saddle for a bit of a dig on the pedals, and with the deep-section wheels and large tube profiles it's even got a bit of aero going on too.

If you want a quick, tight road bike but don't want to be limited to the road then this is definitely one you want on your list.

Even the weight isn't too shabby, with this medium-sized Shimano Ultegra Di2 build coming in at just over 7.5kg. It feels lively, fun enough to sprint on, and it just kind of goads you into going that little bit faster than you were intending.

Saying that, if you can rein things in then the RS is definitely a long-distance cruiser. The slightly relaxed front end and a wheelbase of over a metre brings a smooth-handling, neutral-feeling ride to it which inspires confidence and means that even when you are tired the RS isn't a handful to be aboard.

The only place the RS makes its allroad credentials known is on fast, technical descents, as the geometry means it isn't quite as direct as a specific road bike. It's still better than a gravel bike pressed into road service would be, though.

The ride quality is really good through the frame and fork. As I said, it's stiff, but Ridley has managed to use carbon fibre's buzz-taming properties to its advantage to create a relatively smooth-riding bike with plenty of feedback. This is a really 'talkative' frame and fork, helped by the suppleness of the tyres fitted here, but even with some cheaper, less forgiving rubber fitted this is still a smooth bike to ride.

Those slight disadvantages on the road play to the RS's gravel behaviour. The stability and surefooted characteristics mean you can carry plenty of speed on non-technical sections, and if the surface is loose the RS doesn't feel twitchy and out of control.

With full gravel tyres fitted (I used 40mm Maxxis Reavers) the RS can take on some rough stuff. It's not as hardcore as the latest full-on gravel bikes, but for hardpacked surfaces or looser ones in the dry it isn't fazed at all.

With the ability to take wider tyres it is more capable than the standard Grifn, and bear in mind, just a few years back 42mm was considered good clearance on a gravel bike.

All things considered, this RS model really does live up to the allroad moniker, being a capable machine on all kinds of surfaces, especially if going fast is your goal.

Ridley Grifn RS: Frame & fork

Ridley says that it has optimised the carbon structure of the RS by using lighter but stiff carbon fibres to reduce the weight of this RS compared with the standard Grifn. It's not by a huge amount, it claims about 140g, but taking a light frame and making it lighter without sacrificing stiffness is a challenge.

As I've said above, one of the other big changes is that the tyre clearance has been improved over the Grifn. That bike would take 38mm with a 2x chainset and 40mm with a 1x; this RS will accept 42mm regardless, which brings it into the realm of running decent gravel tyres. I like to run 40mm as a minimum on the gravel I ride.

Ridley points out that 42mm measurement is the physical size of the tyre, so it will come down to your wheel choice too. The inner width of the DT Swiss wheels here is 22mm, which sees the 32mm tyres fitted measure about 33mm in reality.

Other details include internal top tube routing for a rear light running off a dynamo system, and the fork leg has routing too.

You'll also find plenty of mounting points such as those for mudguards (although they aren't exactly in the traditional position, so off-the-shelf guards will require a bit of fettling), and three bottle cage points, each of which has three bolt positions for adjustment should you be running frame bags and the like. Two of the mounting points are in the usual place and you'll find another set under the down tube.

On the upper face of the top tube you'll find a couple of bolts for attaching a bag, or bento box as they're often called.

When not in use there is a blanking plate that keeps everything looking smooth.

Speaking of smooth, like a lot of bikes on the market these days the RS follows the 'run everything internally for a clean look' theme. The bike is only offered in electronic groupset builds and the brake hoses are run internally through the cockpit and directly inside the head tube.

The seatpost clamp is also internal, and if you are running a 1x groupset there is a blanking cover for where the front mech would normally sit.

Even the stem bolts have rubber covers.

There are a few other nods to aerodynamics, too, with the fork crown being designed in a way to help air flow past the down tube, dropped seatstays, and a recess in the seat tube to hug the rear wheel and tyre.

It's a good-looking frameset throughout, and you can have either a standard off-the-shelf paintjob or choose from a huge range of other finishes available using Ridley's customisation build.

Should you crash the RS you might be pleased to know that it uses a UDH, which stands for universal derailleur hanger. You can just replace it with an off-the-shelf item rather than need a model-specific one from Ridley. You also get ceramic bearings throughout on the RS.

All the framesets are covered by a two-year warranty, plus another three years once registered.

Geometry

Geometry-wise, the Grifn RS sits somewhere between a gravel bike and a road bike, exactly as you'd expect for an allroad machine.

For instance, a medium sized road bike will typically have a head angle of around 73-74 degrees, and a gravel bike will be closer to 71 degrees. The RS sits at 72 degrees.

The bottom bracket drop (the distance between the centre of the dropouts and the centre of the BB) for most road bikes is around 68mm, while on a gravel bike it's more like 77mm; here it's 72mm.

The seat angle on the RS is 73.5 degrees, which puts you into a forward position that allows you to get the power down through the pedals.

Other measurements are 565mm for the top tube, 165mm for the head tube, and 520mm for the seat tube.

Stack and reach are 587mm and 391mm respectively, while the overall wheelbase is 1,021mm, with 420mm chainstays.

There are six sizes in total, ranging from XXS to XL, and there's a full geometry table available on Ridley's website.

Ridley Grifn RS: Groupset

The RS is available with a whole range of electronic groupsets, starting with Shimano's 105 Di2 through to SRAM's Red including power meter for the road, and if you want a gravel-specific groupset you have the option of Shimano GRX800 Di2 and SRAM Rival or Force in their XPLR guises.

Classified rear hub builds are also an option, which allow you to run a 1x groupset but with the ratios of a 2x system.

Our build has a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset which, with a 52/36-tooth chainset and an 11-30T 12-speed cassette, is definitely focused on the speed end of the spectrum.

It's a brilliant groupset (which we've reviewed in full) that I have used over thousands of miles since this latest R8170 version was released.

Each iteration has been smoother and quicker changing than the previous one, and this version has a great feel to it. In fact, given the choice I would take this over Dura-Ace as I prefer the fact that Ultegra still has a slightly mechanical feel to it – you can feel the chain move across the sprockets – for that extra bit of involvement with the bike.

As you might already know, this Ultegra group is now semi-wireless, so you have wireless shifting units that use coin-style batteries for their power, while both the front and rear mech are wired and powered by the internal frame battery.

Charging is required around every 620 miles or 1,000km, depending on how often you change gear.

Braking was also improved with this Ultegra release, bringing more pad clearance to stop rotor rub and better progression and modulation through the levers.

It really is a very good groupset in terms of both power and control.

Ridley Grifn RS: Finishing kit

Other kit includes the Forza Cirrus Pro carbon cockpit, which is available with either standard road drops or 16-degree flared. We have the latter, which gives a wider stance and more stability when descending on rough surfaces.

Standard builds come with specific width/length combinations of handlebar and stem depending on the frame size, although if you go down the customisation route you can spec what you want.

As you can see from the photos, a computer mount is included.

The seatpost is Forza, too, and has a D-shaped profile. Made from carbon fibre, it has a zero-setback clamp to give you an inline saddle position. The clamp holds everything tight, and I had no issues with slippage.

The Selle Italia SLR saddle is a mid-range option with manganese rails. I found its slender padding and narrow-nosed shape very comfortable.

Ridley Grifn RS: Wheels & tyres

Ridley definitely hasn't scrimped on the wheel choice, speccing a set of 45mm-deep DT Swiss ERC 1400 carbon wheels, aimed at endurance rides on the road. DT Swiss says they are designed to work well from an aero point of view with tyres up to 32mm in width, so they are definitely aimed at the road side of things. The 22mm inner width means you can still fit gravel tyres, though, to exploit that maximum clearance available here.

With a claimed weight of 1,528g they aren't the lightest around, but they never feel heavy. The rims also give a pleasant ride feel, never feeling harsh or buzzy over poor surfaces while maintaining maximum lateral stiffness.

The 240 hubs are renowned for their performance and reliability and the EXP ratchet freehub design gives instant and secure engagement when putting the power down.

Vittoria's Corsa Pro tyres are a perfect contact point between you and the road. They have a 320tpi cotton casing which makes them feel very supple even when pumped up hard, while the compound used for the rubber is soft and grippy in all kinds of conditions.

The mixture of graphene and silica in the tyre's compound is said to both improve durability and lower rolling resistance. They definitely feel quick, that's for sure.

Ridley Grifn RS: Pricing & value

Ridley's UK website shows three colour options for the RS, in complete builds starting with Shimano 105 Di2 for £5,299. Other builds are 1x SRAM Rival XPLR (£5,499), SRAM Force XPLR or GRX800 Di2 (£6,399), Shimano Ultegra Di2 (£7,299) and the road version of SRAM Force for £7,499. These use different wheels, tyres and saddles depending on price, but they all get the carbon cockpit.

Other builds, like the road version of Rival, Classified, Dura-Ace and Red, are available through the configurator, as is the frameset, which starts at £4,202.81 depending on which paint option you go for. There are five paint finishes on offer, in a range of 35 colours, with a matt or gloss finish. Depending on what you want, you'll be looking at £349 to £649. Ours has the Radiant finish, which costs £400.

The cheapest full build in the configurator is with 105 Di2, DT Swiss G1800 wheels, Vittoria Corsa N.Ext tyres and a Selle Italia Model Y saddle. It costs £4,770.40.

With the build we have, as discussed above, the overall price is £7,292. That's quite high compared with some of the competition in the rapidly growing allroad category, but if you want the tyre clearances the Ridley offers without going the gravel-specific route, your choices are limited.

It's only a little more than the equivalent Argon 18 Krypton Pro, which costs £7,000 with Ultegra Di2, a set of Hunt's Aerodynamicist carbon wheels and carbon handlebar, but over a grand more than Fara's F/AR All-Road model, currently sold out but around £5,500 with Ultegra Di2 and Zipp 303s wheelset plus Fara's integrated carbon cockpit, and two grand more than Ribble's Allroad SL R in its Pro build – £4,999 with an Ultegra Di2 groupset, Mavic Cosmic S carbon wheels and an integrated cockpit with Ribble's new UB-2 carbon bar. (I'm currently riding the Ribble Allroad SL R, so stay tuned for my thoughts on it.)

The common theme with all these bikes, though, is that their tyre clearance is limited to 38mm with a 2x groupset, so the Grifn RS has the edge on that front, allowing it to be used as a proper, albeit racy, gravel bike on 40mm to 42mm tyres.

When compared with Canyon's Grail, a racing style gravel bike that maxes out at 42mm tyre clearance, it looks better value. I first rode a Grail a few years back when it was brand new and absolutely loved it. The Grail comes in different frame levels, like the Grifn, with the CFR being the highest carbon spec, so similar to the Grifn RS. The CFR Di2 comes with a Shimano GRX Di2 groupset and DT Swiss GRC 1100 wheels for £6,999; the equivalent Grifn RS with DT Swiss GRC 1600 wheels is £6,250.

Ridley Grifn RS: Conclusion

Overall, I'm a big fan of the Grifn RS. It's got a great feel about it, and not just the actual ride quality – I mean the way the geometry and finishing kit make it behave just like a fast, fun road bike but also give it the capability of being pointed at a bit of light gravel thanks to those tyre clearances being wider than many allroad machines. With plenty of mounting points as well, it also fits the bill as a fast credit card tourer or money-no-object commuter.

> Buy now: Ridley Grifn RS for £7,292 from Ridley

Verdict

N+1 is no longer required – the Grifn RS is an awesome bike on the road and very capable away from it